Suicide Blonde
by darkstorm5000
Summary: When the Brotherhood travels to Atlantic City for a wild night of celebrating, Lance gets more than he bargained for when he wakes up the next morning with a wedding ring mysteriously wrapped around his finger. Especially, once Kitty finds out back home..
1. Suicide Blonde

Suicide Blonde

Written by Darkstorm5000

Disclaimer: X-Men Evolution, the X-Men, and other related characters in their various incarnations are the property of Marvel Entertainment Group and Film Roman Productions, are used without permission and not for profit.

**xxx**

It was like waking up from a dream.

Literally.

From one that seemed all too real, yet one that you're unable to clearly recall even the slightest details of. That is exactly how the young man named Lance Alvers felt at this precise moment, after awakening this morning at an hour late enough that would better classify it as very early afternoon.

Finding himself in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar place, Lance immediately struggled to remember how it was that he wound up here in the first place? It was a search for answers that was made all the more difficult through the sobering haze of an oncoming hangover, which was no doubt the result of a night of extensive partying.

Sitting up on one edge of this oversized bed, at least one that was larger than Lance had been used to sleeping in, a quick visual scan of this modestly upscale hotel room for his clothes promptly revealed the location of his garments. Along, with something else.

The fact that he was not in here alone.

Laying over on the other side of this king-sized bed was the form of another person. A form which he was immediately able to recognize as female in spite of the fact that, whoever it was, was currently curled up completely from head-to-toe in between the bed's sheets. While a moment of silent, conquestive gloating washed over Lance at his assumptive realization that last night must have been a very good night indeed, his smug contentment almost in that same instant turned to shock at the next sight in the room that caught his attention.

Of a gold band that was on his left ring-finger.

"**Shit**!"

Was Lance's coarse, monosyllabic reaction that instinctively came to mind and mouth. His heart now began to beat a bit more rapidly and an acute queasiness settled into the pit of his stomach, as he stared in near horror at this new piece of jewelry on his outstretched hand, knowing full-well what it was.

And, what it meant.

Quietly standing up, Lance for the time-being forewent going over to retrieve his clothes, all of which were randomly scattered out across various parts of this small hotel suite. Instead, he nervously crept unclad around the foot of this bed to its other side. Kneeling down and pulling the bed's pristine white top-sheet back slowly and with the utmost care, so as not to disturb the sleeping party underneath it, Lance saw a down-turned face that was completely obscured by long bleached-blonde locks. But more importantly, he was able to spot what it was that he was truly searching for, this woman's left hand sticking out onto the mattress-top from underneath the semi-tangle of her blonde tresses, out just far enough to be visible. He saw that upon one of her attentively manicured fingers that she too was wearing a gold ring, one that was identical in both design and style to his, save for a sizing difference to accommodate for her smaller ring finger.

It was right then and there that Lance could no longer deny what was so obviously apparent. The irrefutable truth that whoever this person was, who was sleeping so soundly at the moment less than a foot away from him, that she wasn't just some random woman he had spent the night with. That she, somehow, someway, in all likelihood, was his...was...his...

Wife.

With the gravity of that acceptance of truth now weighing on his mind and shoulders more heavily than the considerable bulk of his teammate known as the Blob, Lance took a single step back from the bed with a slight shudder and then went over to put on his boxers and a pair of worn-looking jeans. All the while, he continued to rack his brain for answers as to how this could have happened, and tried to figure out how he was going to get out of his unbelievable predicament?

Having by now put on some clothes to make himself at least modestly decent, Lance rifled through his jean's front pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Turning the mobile device on and scrolling through the list of internally saved phone numbers, Lance then dialed the one person who had more experience than anyone he knew in dealing with disastrous situations.

"Hey, you gotta get over here. I'm in trouble. BIG trouble." Lance frantically said to this other person, doing so in a whispered scream so as not to wake up his new...wife, just in case a hasty exit became necessary.

"_Where the hell are you_?!"

Was the less than warm greeting that met Lance from the other end of the line as soon as the receiving party answered. But, he knew it was the least that he should expect from one Wanda Maximoff. Particularly when, unbeknownst to him, she and the rest of the Brotherhood had been out most of the night looking for him, trying to figure out where he had disappeared to?

"I...I don't know." Lance replied, as it struck him that he really wasn't sure of his exact whereabouts at the moment, "In a hotel room. Somewhere."

"Well, are you still in Atlantic City, genius?" Wanda asked him, with a bit of astonished sarcasm thrown in for good measure.

But, her remarks did have the indirectly intentional effect of finally jogging Lance's memory. Of helping him to remember that he and the rest of the Brotherhood had indeed come to Atlantic City, in order to celebrate their graduation from high school. Which, in most of their cases, was a successful achievement that had been met with by just the barest of minimum requirements.

Turning around and taking several steps over towards the room's large picture window, Lance opened the curtains to see the ocean-side view below, accompanied by the sight of Atlantic City's world-famous Boardwalk now teeming with people.

"Um yeah, I'm still here. Somewhere along the Boardwalk." Lance confirmed for Wanda in a perpetually hushed voice, as his eyes now wandered over to the small nightstand next to the bed. Which was where information displaying this casino-hotel's name and his room number were laying, which he then astutely relayed to Wanda.

"Okay, that's not too far from where we're at. I'll round the guys up and we'll be over there in a few." Wanda replied with a small sigh, as the call disconnected.

Closing his phone and shoving it back into his front pocket, Lance went and took a seat in a nearby chair. With head now in hands, Lance looked up for a brief glance at the still sleeping form in the bed across the room from him, before turning his face back downward to rest it back against his upturned palms. From this almost meditative position, Lance once again attempted to peer through the alcohol-tinged haze that clouded his memories of roughly the last 12 hours. But this time, he was able to somewhat recall the events of last night.

Of entering one of the casinos with the rest of the Brotherhood upon their arrival here in Atlantic City, but soon breaking off from them as they proceeded on to the casino's main floor, opting to instead introduce himself and his Brotherhood standard-issue fake ID to the adjoining bar. All he could remember next were vague hints of a soft voice and a pretty smile, accompanied by eyes that didn't scrutinize identification cards too closely. Of succinctly receiving an ice-tea of the Long Island variety, along with a lone complimentary poker chip, all on the house.

From that point on, Lance's memories disappeared into a garbled mess of more drinks, followed by snippets of imagery from an all night revelry that were played back in fast-forward, until his head was spinning like a tornado. Opening his eyes to regain his bearings, his now splitting hangover was only further reinforced in intensity thanks to the loud and rapid knocking that soon emanated at the room's door from out in the hallway.

Lance quickly got up to answer it, so that he could put a stop to the machine gun-like tapping that felt more like a jackhammer to the brain in his current state. While walking over, Lance once again took notice of the sleeping figure in the bed, who was still resting as peacefully as ever in spite of this latest commotion. Lance thought to himself that at least one thing he'd learned about her was that she wasn't a light sleeper. Even, if he knew precious little else about his new...wife.

"When we told you to go and get lost, we didn't mean to go and do it literally, loser." Were the terse words that now came from Pietro Maximoff, as Lance came out into the hallway to join him, while quickly and quietly pulling the door to his hotel room closed right behind him.

Standing there dressed in a lightweight sage sweater, gray-green pants, and casual leather-brown shoes that were in stark contrast to Lance's own bare essentials jeans-only look, Pietro shot him a smile that exuded confidence with a hint that there was something else going on behind it. And while that was nothing out of the ordinary where Pietro was concerned, given the 'unique' set of circumstances that Lance had found himself woken up smack-dab in the middle of this morning, he was more prone to entertain even the slightest hints of his own suspicions regarding exactly how he had managed to wind up here.

"Alright man, good one!" Lance now said with a huge smile that suddenly appeared on his face, as he ran his right hand back through his yet-to-be-combed hair and appeared to breathe a huge sigh of relief.

"Um, what are you talking about?" Pietro quickly replied, raising an inquisitive eyebrow in the same amount of time it took for him to frame his question.

"C'mon, you might as well give it up. I'll admit it, you jerks got me pretty good. But, the gag's over now." Lance said, as he slapped a hearty hand up on Pietro's shoulder.

"Now you've gotten me just as lost and confused as you obviously are." Pietro replied, as he turned what was an already cocked eye over towards the hand currently planted to his left, before turning back to fully look at the person in front of him, "Maybe I didn't make myself clear earlier, but what the hell are you talking about?"

With a look of earnest confusion being shot back in his direction, Lance saw that Pietro was going to play this very elaborate practical joke for all it was worth. So, he decided to go ahead and 'enlighten' friend as to what he was talking about.

"I'm talking about this, asswad!" Lance said, with what was becoming a frustrated grin, as he held up his left hand to give Pietro a visual representation.

"Whoa!" Pietro said, his look of confusion turning instantly to one of absolute shock at the sight of the gold band on Lance's finger.

Without uttering another word, Pietro wrapped his hand around Lance's wrist and pulled it in to him closer, so that he could better inspect this new piece of jewelry that Lance was now sporting. And the manner with which Pietro was slowly and silently examining the ring, two character traits that the young speedster was certainly not known for, Lance's mindset began to uncontrollably drift back to its prior state of panic at the prospect that this was perhaps not a joke?

"So, you guys really didn't have nothin' to do with this? With hiring that girl in there to go along with it?" Lance now asked as he gestured towards the door behind him, a small amount of optimism remaining in his voice that perhaps Pietro was at last about to come clean and admit to his part in this chicanery. But, with a still genuinely surprised look on his face, Pietro's nod to the contrary quashed any remaining hope that Lance might've still been clinging to.

"This is why you called us over here, so you could show off the latest accessory in your new summer collection!" Wanda once again angrily and sarcastically greeted Lance, as she came around the corner down at one end of this hallway, with Fred Dukes and Todd Tolensky in tow following right behind her. Both of whom had been irritating Wanda on the way up here with their emotional back-and-forth speculating, which centered on whether or not they would get to see the owner of this casino-hotel come out and actually fire somebody this morning?

All three had just stepped off of the elevator onto this floor, the same elevator that a few minutes ago Pietro had been far too impatient to stand around in the hotel's lobby and wait for. Instead, he had opted to take the stairs and had apparently made his way by foot up all 37 flights to this floor before them in virtually no time.

"When you called earlier, you sounded all frantic like it was a matter of life and death." Wanda further reminded Lance, unable to see the reason for his earlier near-hysterics on the phone, all the while as she and the rest of the Brotherhood drew closer to where he and her brother were standing.

"More like, 'til death do us part." Pietro laughingly informed them, causing Lance to suddenly yank his upheld wrist back from out of Pietro's grasp.

"Say, yo...is that, like, what I think it is?" Todd now asked, having gotten close enough to get a good look and spot what was on Lance's hand.

But, Lance remained silent and gave only an affirmative nod in response to Todd's inquiry about the item on his left hand. He then fell back onto the door behind him, sliding down into a slumped heaped on the floor and sat up against it.

"You mean to tell me, while we were out all night looking for you, you decided to just go off and get married to some total stranger?" Wanda angrily looked down at him and said, shaking her head in disbelief.

Seeing these tired and moderately bloodshot eyes that matched much of her outfit now staring down into his own, and knowing that Wanda would be the least likely to go this far to help out with some stupid prank, Lance began to finally accept that all of this was in fact for real.

"I didn't just go off and get married!" Lance loudly told this group now gathered around him, and then realized what he had just said, "I mean, I did. But not on purpose, it just sorta happened. Somehow. And I can't remember a damn thing about it, or about much else that went on last night."

"Kitty is SO gonna kill you when she finds out, bonehead!" Pietro grinningly said, and continued with his prodding chuckles.

"Please, Kitty hasn't talked to me since we had that huge fight at prom." Lance replied with an implied tone of indifference.

Although, everyone currently standing here in this hallway with him had also been there that night several weeks ago at their high-school prom to witness those events transpire between the young couple. And they weren't necessarily buying Lance's act now that he had all of a sudden stopped caring about her. Especially, since it was far from the first major fight that they had ever had on this roller-coaster ride that was their relationship.

"Man, what the hell am I going to do?" Lance now said in a partial rhetorical, partially probing manner as he started to once again freak-out in earnest, "I mean, that chick in there, she could be an axe-murderer or something? Right?"

"More like completely brain-dead to elope with you." Wanda bitingly sniped at him.

"Is she at least good-looking?" Fred suddenly asked Lance, his genuine curiosity coming off sounding a bit more crass than he probably realized, all thanks to his at times succinct way of communicating with others.

"Yeah, is she a total babe?" Todd added, his comment however conveying the exact sentiments that he meant it to.

Lance just sat there for a moment, once again in silent contemplation, before offering up an answer for them.

"I don't know, I can't remember exactly." Lance finally replied, as he racked his brain for something, anything, beyond just the extremely vague, alcohol-blurred glimpses that he had been able to recall earlier, "She was still asleep when you guys showed up. I haven't had a chance to get a good look at her just yet."

But, rather than the supportive or sympathetic gestures one might expect to receive in a situation like this, Lance's plight was met with by a more typical Brotherhood reaction.

Loud and unrelenting laughter.

"Oh, mans! Then she must really be kennel club material or something, to make you have to mentally block her face out of your mind!" Pietro said, having been the one who had originally instigated the wisecracking at Lance's expense, and was now compounding on those efforts.

Pietro's remarks managed to draw fits of intense giggling from everybody, save for one. His sister and the lone female of the group, who didn't see anything funny about any of this.

"When we get back home, I'm going to buy the cutest little leash that I can find, as my special wedding gift to you two. You know, for those leisurely romantic walks by moonlight." Pietro mercilessly persisted and told Lance, not generally being one to know when something like what he considered to be harmless teasing was being taken too far. Or, when a line was being crossed, not until it was already too late.

Such as now, when the look on Lance's face clearly relayed that he was on the verge of unleashing a seismic wave right at him. One powerful enough to cave-in the floor that they were on, and likely take out several more floors beneath them as well in the process, if Pietro didn't knock it off immediately. Fortunately for them, and for the other hotel occupants', the door to Lance's hotel room opened up just in time to avert such a disaster.

And, wound up dropping the jaws of every male within direct visual range of the doorway right behind Lance.

"**There you are**! I was starting to worry about where my 'Lancey-poo' had gotten off to?" A curvily-built blonde, who was dressed in skimpy red and black lingerie, popped out of the hotel room and looked down at him to say. All as Lance tumbled backwards into the room, now that the door he had been sitting back up against had suddenly swung open.

But, with a fresh round of snickering from the Brotherhood out here in the hallway, as they silently mouthed his wife's new pet-name for Lance to one another, she at last realized that she and Lance weren't out here alone.

"Oh, I didn't know we had company?" She said with a quick toss of her hair, her big blue eyes at first giving off the appearance of total startlement. But in the same token, she didn't seem to be all that bothered by the fact that she was standing there barely dressed in front of a small crowd of strangers.

"Yeah, um, these are some friends of mine." Lance said as he rolled back forward and stood up, unable to take his eyes off of this alluring vixen now standing before him.

"Well, any friends of my Honeybear's, are friends of mine." She said, as she leaned up to give Lance the kind of kiss that would've most assuredly woken him up, if he hadn't been already. While Lance had to temporarily use the inner doorframe for support, to help keep his balance after receiving such a passionate show of affection, his new bride went over to introduce herself to everyone else.

And without any hesitating at all on her part, Lance's new wife came up and unabashedly hugged both Todd and Fred. Which caught them both by surprise, since she was the first person from the opposite sex to make this level of physical contact with them in a very long time, doing so on purpose and without a grimaced hint of revulsion no doubt.

"Um, hi...uh, Miss Goldilocks." Was all that a now flush-faced Fred could manage to get out, after being so close to a beautiful woman who looked as though she could've just stepped from the pages of a storybook. Or rather, given her current state of dress, out of one of those magazine's that he and the rest of the guys had stashed around the Brotherhood House back home.

"Oh, you silly." She replied, as she reached up and playfully pinched one of his cheeks, "That's not my name."

Then, there was a noticeable pause from this woman, who seemed as though she had been talking non-stop since coming out here to join them. In fact, it was such a pointed lull that some in there small group began to wonder if perhaps she had actually forgotten what her name was in all of her excitement?

"My name is Jennifer Stavros." Jennifer told them, and put any of their lingering doubts to rest, "But, I was thinking just now that I should probably get used to going by my new married name, Mrs. Lance Alvers. Mrs. Jennifer Alvers. That has a neat-o ring to it, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. 'Neat-o'." Wanda rolled her eyes and coolly replied, her response far less enthusiastic in the face of what she saw as Jennifer's bubbly affectations, and only grudgingly offered a handshake in return to Jen's attempt now at a cordial embrace with her.

"It's so great to get to finally meet all of you!" Jen told Wanda, before going over to greet her brother in her own 'special' way. Her last statement was one that Wanda found to be terribly ironic, since Jen had only known her new husband just slightly longer than she did the rest of them.

"Well, it looks like you weren't the only one who managed to hit the jackpot last night, sis." Pietro next came over and said to Wanda, after Jen released him from her welcoming press and went back to fawn over Lance.

Pietro was referring to the winning streak that Wanda had experienced the night before in one of the casinos', where she unexpectedly hit a lucky roll at one of the roulette tables that wound up lasting for several hours and netted her winnings in the high five-digit range. Which was a highly unusual occurrence, particularly when considering the game in question, for someone who was renown for her ability to bring bad luck around her more often than not wherever she went.

"Alright, losers, see ya in about a week." Lance abruptly said to the rest of the Brotherhood, as he turned to head back into his hotel room, "Newlywed stuff to take care of, you know?"

And with that, Lance took Jennifer by the hand and pulled her along with him, before quickly closing the door behind them both.

While the others seemed to be quite amused by Lance's antics, Wanda in contrast was far from it. Thinking to herself that if her teammates' would actually use their 'bigger' brains, they would see that there was something really, really strange about this situation. And that if Lance had any kind of heart at all, that he'd give a bit more consideration to what all of this was going to do to a certain girl back home in Bayville. One, whom Wanda had gotten to know fairly well and had become pretty good friends with over the past year.

And knew exactly what hearing this news was going to do to her...


	2. Heartbreaker

Heartbreaker

Written by Darkstorm5000

Disclaimer: X-Men Evolution, the X-Men, and other related characters in their various incarnations are the property of Marvel Entertainment Group and Film Roman Productions, are used without permission and not for profit.

**xxx**

With a growling roar that was accompanied by the sound of high-performance rubber being generously left behind on a relatively warm asphalt surface, Kitty Pryde made her way with a strong sense of urgency down the semi-rural roads that surrounded Bayville's modest metropolitan epicenter. Or rather, judging by the fact that the speedometer on this black and white-striped motorcycle was currently registering at nearly double the posted speed-limit for this area, Kitty was riding like a woman on a mission. But in her case, and given the particular set of circumstances that had just transpired, it was more like she was someone who was on her way and determined to get some answers.

As she tore down this roadway that was luckily and thankfully all but empty at this late evening hour, Kitty thought to herself that she should've known something was up earlier as soon as she saw Rogue, Kurt, and Wanda all standing out there in the sub-level corridor of the Institute that lay in between the Danger Room and the women's locker room.

Which, Kitty had just exited after changing into her team uniform and where she was on her way to go log some personal time in the X-Men's state-of-the-art training facility, when she ran into this small assemblage...

_"So, what's with you guys' hangin' out down here?"_

But, no one responded.

And in that same moment, Kitty had noticed that all present were wearing expressions of a very serious nature. Which for Rogue and Wanda was nothing out of the ordinary, but in Kurt's case was a most telling sign.

_"Okay, what's the matter?" _

As she immediately went into 'X-Girl Mode', Kitty's mind instinctively raced through several end-of-the-world-type scenarios that she and the rest of the X-Men regularly trained for. But, what she hadn't been prepared for was to hear the news that her closest friends were about to break to her.

_"Something...something happened while we were in Atlantic City..."_

As Wanda continued and proceeded to carefully summarize the events of the last several days for her, beginning with the Brotherhood's post-graduation trip to Atlantic City, Kitty was fully expecting to hear a festive tale where things had gotten a bit out of hand and ended with someone having been escorted to the local lockup for a brief, all-expense paid stay. But as Wanda soon got to the part where they went to one of the casino-hotels in this vacation hotspot to pick up Lance, after receiving a frantic-sounding phone call from him, Kitty couldn't believe what she heard next. And those standing there, who themselves were fully expecting some kind of wildly emotional, yet understandably justified outburst from Kitty upon learning what Lance had done, were equally as surprised by the calm manner in which she replied to them.

_"Rogue. I need to borrow your bike."_

_"Uh, Kit...sure."_

Handing her the keys to her motorcycle without hesitation, Kitty just as quickly took them from Rogue and turned towards the underground elevator shaft. It was a request that Kitty had made of her friend and roommate not because she didn't have a car of her own, but because fuel economy, safety ratings, and the best in modern German engineering had just taken a backseat in importance. No, what she needed right now was a mode of transport that would get her over to the Brotherhood House as quickly as possible. And since she knew that Professor Xavier would neither approve of, nor appreciate, the X-Jet being used for non-essential purposes, she went with next best option.

With, option-two turning out to be a fully restored and ostensibly retro-fitted Harley Davidson XL Evo, a monster of a motor-bike that had been rebuilt and given to Rogue as a birthday gift by none other than Logan himself. Knowing that fact, and the type of relationship that existed between Logan and his surrogate daughter, would help explain in his choice of this fully decked-out ride for her. Which itself bore striking similarities to one of his own bikes, and was why Logan knew that Rogue could more than handle it. Knowing who it had come from would also better explain the reason to why the word 'Stripes' had been artistically stenciled on both sides of her bike at its rear, enveloped within a set of white custom-designed racing stripes that ran the bike's entire length.

It was also why when Kitty, after phasing up through the Institute from its sub-levels like the phantom that her mutant powers reminded many of, and then continued on her way out to its exterior garage where she tore out of there on this borrowed cruiser, Logan was quick to assume that it was the bike's owner who was responsible for such a thunderously-revved peel out. Which resulted in him yelling accordingly from somewhere nearby, although just out of sight, as Kitty made it to the estate's perimeter gate hitting 0 to 60 mph in under 5 seconds flat...

_**"Dammit, Rogue! I thought I told you to slow it down before you screw around and get yourself another ticket!"**_

Which, was yet another telling sign…

**xxx**

Back in the present as Kitty now sped along towards the Brotherhood House, she tried to think about what she was going to say when she got there? While she searched for those particular words, the only thing that she could even come close to being able to verbalize was the overriding need to scream at the top of her lungs, just as her mentor had done mere moments ago after she made her departure from the grounds of the Xavier Institute. So when she finally made it to her destination, Kitty decided to go with that compelling urge and directed a high-pitched shriek at the object of her current disaffection.

_**"LANCE!!!"**_

Hopping off of this barely stopped bike and tossing her helmet down onto the ground beside it, Kitty was already storming up towards the house where Bayville's other-half in the mutant population resided when she made this vociferous announcement of her arrival. It was a notice that all inside couldn't help but hear, given the loud and obviously infuriated tone that this usually amiable young lady was displaying at the moment. In fact, it was such a stark change in Kitty's normal demeanor that none of the residents of this house were surprised when she forewent a courteous knock on the front door, and instead used her mutant powers to let herself in.

_**"LANCE!!! I know you're in here!"**_

Having seen his jeep still parked outside when she pulled up, Kitty was certain beyond any shadow of a doubt that he was here. And judging from the lack of response to her last assertion, Kitty was also just as sure that he was in here somewhere hiding from her.

Not that it mattered, though.

Gifted with the ability to phase her entire body through virtually any surface or material known to man, there were precious few places on Earth that an individual could go to hide from Kitty. And knowing full-well that their home came nowhere close to fitting in to that category, especially since Kitty had just called out for a second time for one Lance Alvers from within the very walls of their residence, the rest of the Brotherhood knew that they were in what equated to a do or die situation.

And not wanting to end up in the 'die' half of that particular equation, since it was obvious that Kitty wasn't going to just go away like they had been hoping for upon first seeing her pull up outside, and because it sounded like she was out for blood and they didn't want it to wind up being their own, the Brotherhood decided to go ahead and 'do' something about it first. Which is why as she stood in the area that lay just inside of the front door, Kitty was unexpectedly presented with a welcoming gift.

Of sorts.

Pietro, Fred, and Todd all suddenly rushed in from an adjoining room, the trio dragging their life-sized tribute for Kitty in with them.

_"Here, he's all yours!"_

And just as quickly as Pietro had spoken those words to Kitty, he and his cohorts dumped Lance down onto the worn wooden floor right in front of her, all before making a hasty exit themselves. Having had extensive experience from those occasions when Wanda's temper had been pushed far past its boiling point, and seeing that Kitty's current demeanor had reached a frighteningly similar state, these three reacted instinctively to what they were sure was about to become another explosive situation. Which for them meant that it was every man for himself, as they all figuratively and literally headed for the hills.

While Pietro zipped around Kitty at speeds that put her own breakneck bike-ride over here to shame, heading out through the front door that lay behind her and slamming it closed behind him as he departed, Todd in turn used his incredible leaping ability to sail through the air almost halfway across the house and face-first out of an open far-side window. Meanwhile, Fred wasn't far behind Todd and opted to make his own personalized exit, using his considerable bulk, strength, and momentum to crash through the section of wall right beside that open window and continue on with his own escape.

"So, what're you doin' here?" Lance now said with a curious nod and innocent grin, sitting up so that he could look up at Kitty from his current floor-seat vantage.

**"You know damn well why I'm here!" **Kitty spat back, while returning the type of look down to Lance that could kill.

Hearing her tone that exuded a still-present deep anger and that now bordered on profanity, a combination that Lance could hardly ever remember hearing from her even in their worst of fights before, Lance knew that it was probably a good idea for him to get up to his feet. Before Kitty decided to use his current position against him, and put him in one of those painful floor joint-holds that he knew the Wolverine routinely taught to all of the X-Men.

"I don't get it. First you tell me that you don't want to have anything else to do with me, then you come over here acting like some kind of psycho!" Lance said, as he stood up and told Kitty the way that he saw things between them.

"The only reason I'm over here is because you weren't man enough, and obviously don't even care enough about me, to at least come in person to tell me what you did." Kitty now said in a non-shouting capacity, for the first time since her arrival this afternoon.

But before Lance could respond, Kitty used her own (ironically enough) cat-like reflexes to reach down and grab his left wrist and pull it up and over towards her. Which in turn caused Lance to nervously jump a little, his mind still entertaining his earlier apprehensions about being on the receiving end of bodily harm from this deceptively petite X-Man. In the end though, what he received was an up close inspection of his left hand for the second time in so many days, followed by yet another reaction of disbelief.

"I can't believe...I can't believe you could be this stupid!" Kitty now said with an indignant huff, shaking her head in disgust as she threw Lance's hand back at him and away from her after having gotten the visual confirmation that she came there seeking.

Of the fact that while he was in Atlantic City, Lance had gone off and eloped with a complete and total stranger, as evidenced by the wedding band that he was now sporting.

"So, is this your way of getting back at me?" Kitty looked up at him, doing so with a piercing stare right into his eyes, and asked, "Because of what happened at prom?"

With that question, both Kitty and Lance simultaneously flashed back to that night several weeks ago. To their prom night, where everything had been going amazingly well, until the subject of post-prom activities came up. While Kitty had assumed that they would spend the rest of the night living it up with their friends, Lance had made a very similar assumption, albeit one with a more intimate twist.

Having assumed himself that tonight would at last be 'the night' for them, particularly since he and Kitty had more or less been together for a few years now and it was what many couples did on prom night, Lance had went and booked a room for them at one of Bayville's modestly-rated hotels a few weeks in advance in anticipation. But what he hadn't anticipated, and certainly hadn't expected, was Kitty's less than receptive response to his plans for the evening. That, and the wicked argument that they wound up getting into once prom was over and they were standing outside...

_"I don't get why you're all flippin' out on me?"_

_"Because, I would've expected something a little bit more romantic than 'So, how'z about we go 'n get it on?' Geez!"_

_"The way you're acting, you'd think I just asked you get down in the backseat of my jeep right here in the parking lot! I told you I got us a room at a nice hotel."_

_"But, it's about more than that. We're talking about taking our relationship to a whole new level. That means something really special for me."_

_"Us finally doin' it's somethin' special to me too. You think I'd drop a couple hundred bucks for one night on a room if I didn't?"_

_"__**Gawd, Lance!**__ You really know how to swoon a girl, don't you?"_

_"And, you really know how to drive me crazy with all of your mind games!" _

_"Huh? What're you talking about?"_

_"C'mon, you're always doing it! One minute you act like you're all into me and want to be with me, then you're totally pissed and yelling at me the next. Like right now!"_

_"Did it ever occur to you that maybe the reason I get pissed and yell at you is because you act like a totally insensitive jerk? Like right now!" _

_"Whatever. I'm going to go and have some fun tonight. You can either join me. Or not."_

_"Then, I guess it's 'Or not'!"_

_**"Fine, do whatever the hell you want! I'm outta here!"**_

_**"Fine, I will!"**_

As Lance stormed off towards his jeep that night, both he and Kitty fully expected for the other to quickly reverse course. But as most arguments that couples have seem to go, a stubborn will and a desire to be seen as the one who was right on both of their parts would ultimately prevent any such speedy reconciliation. Resulting in Lance driving off that night by himself, while Kitty left soon thereafter in the company of Kurt & Wanda and Rogue & Ray.

And as the next few weeks ticked down until graduation, the only form of communication that was exchanged between this estranged couple (if it could be considered that) were a few bitter glares, interspersed between longing glances from each of them towards the other. Which is why Kitty hadn't even been aware of the Brotherhood's post-graduation jaunt to Atlantic City until they had already left, with Rogue having mentioned that Kurt had just gotten back from seeing Wanda off later that evening. It would turn out to be the ultimate twist of fate, as Kitty had been planning on going over later that night to talk to Lance about where things stood between them, much like now.

But where her original intention for such a conversation would have been to cover the prospect of them getting back together, their talk now had taken on an entirely different timbre.

"This has nothing to do with prom." Lance now said, with his brief and somewhat shared stroll down that most recent block of memory lane now over, "It just sorta happened."

"**Bullshit! **Marriage doesn't just fall out the sky, it takes two people and a couple of 'I do's' if I remember correctly." Kitty snapped back, her flirtation with profanity having now taken on a decidedly greater directness, "And seriously, what on earth makes you think you' re anywhere near ready to be married anyway?"

"And what makes you so sure that I'm not?" Lance defensively replied, resentful of the way that he felt that she was talking down to him. Again.

"**Oh, come on**! You don't know the first thing about making a real commitment!" Kitty asserted in an attempt to try and get through past Lance's stubbornly misguided notion.

"Like you know everything!" Lance defensively retorted to Kitty and her 'so-called' expert advice.

"Then, can you honestly look me in the eye and tell me that this is what you want? To be married to the first inflatable bimbo in Atlantic City who'd hop into bed with you?" Kitty verbally lashed out in a way that was a bit uncharacteristic for her, the anger that she was feeling from this entire situation having completely boiled over and now taken direct aim at Lance's new wife.

Whom, Kitty had gotten a brief glimpse of from a picture that had been taken of her and Lance on Wanda's camera-phone the day after their wedding, while they were all still in Atlantic City. Although in the time since, Jennifer Stavros-Alvers had come here with her new husband to live in Bayville at the Brotherhood House. And as a matter of fact, had been sitting over in the next room this entire time and had heard everything that had been said during this emotional back and forth between Kitty and Lance.

Including, Kitty's less than favorable remark about her.

"You can be mad at me all you want, but don't talk about Jen like that." Lance now said in response to Kitty's fairly derisive comment. Which was possibly the most out of character thing said this evening, just because of the unexpected nature of it given Lance's generally apathetic attitude where others' feelings were concerned.

"Oh, and why not?" Kitty angrily put both of her hands upon her hips and eagerly inquired.

"Because…that's my wife you're talking about!" Lance blurted out, this time his tone and expression becoming a bit more contemplative, as if a great truth about the seriousness of those vows he'd taken with the woman over in the other room (which even now he could just barely recall) had suddenly revealed itself to him. Just as another vital truth had also become evident to Kitty right at that very same moment.

That, she could continue carrying on with an even more unsightly tirade here, grilling Lance about his choice of spouse, about whether he actually loved her, and why if he wanted to get married so badly that he didn't ask her?

But, Kitty realized that none of that mattered.

The fact of the matter remained that Lance was now married to someone else, and that her yelling at him like some crazy person wasn't going to change anything. So having already said her peace, Kitty felt it was best now for her to just go ahead and leave, while she still had a few shreds of dignity intact.

"You know, you're right." Kitty responded to Lance's last statement regarding the reality of his new marital status, staring up at him with eyes that mere seconds ago had burned with anger but were now struggling, yet wholly determined, to hold back the surge of tears now welling up behind them.

It was a sight that would haunt Lance for the rest of his life, seeing that degree, that level of hurt on display in them. And at last truly understanding what he'd done, in a way that Wanda's prior warning hadn't been able to get through to him.

Nor would he ever forget Kitty's final, parting words to him.

"I think we've said everything that ever needs to be said between us." Kitty now said in the coldest, most emotionally-distant tone that Lance, or anyone who knew her for that matter, had ever heard from Katherine Pryde, "I hope you two are happy together."

And without another word said, Kitty turned around to head towards the closed front door behind her, phasing her way back out through it in just the same manner that she'd done earlier when making her entrance. It wasn't until she was outside and walking away from the Brotherhood House towards Rogue's bike that Kitty would finally allow the floodgates to open, if just a little.

Wiping across her eyes with a quick swipe from the backside of one of her gloved-hands to dry a few stray tears, Kitty immediately followed that action by kneeling down to pick up Rogue's forest-green and white motorcycle helmet. Putting it on, Kitty didn't hesitate in jumping back on this borrowed bike and revving it up as loudly as possible, before tearing off back down this now darkening roadway.

While in contrast, Lance stood at an on-looking window from inside of the house and watched Kitty disappear into the twilight. Left there alone with his thoughts, with his almost instantaneous regrets over breaking the heart of and destroying a friendship with the only person in his life who'd ever really tried to love him in spite of himself, and an internal debate that continued to rage on within him as to whether any of his decisions over the last several weeks had been the correct ones, Lance wound up broodingly staring out of that window for far longer than he realized...

**xxx**

As this evening grew later and drew ever closer to midnight, so to did the level of concern increase for several residents of the Xavier Institute who had gathered within its main living room. For Rogue, Logan, Ororo, Kurt, and Wanda, it had been an evening spent watching television on the large wide-screen monitor in there, although none of them had been really paying all of that much attention to what had been on. Rather, their thoughts had been primarily focused this entire time on the person who was conspicuous in her persisting absence. So much so, that Logan had to be dissuaded several times this evening, through the combined efforts of everyone now present in here, from jumping on one of his own bikes and following the residue trail left behind from Kitty's earlier high-octane departure.

Which they all knew would lead him straight to the Brotherhood House, and most likely head-first into the less than charming young man who'd hurt his Half-Pint, a prospect that none in here thought could even remotely end well. But in all likelihood, what had actually managed to keep Logan glued to this sofa had been a reassurance from Professor Xavier following a cursory psi-scan that Kitty was fine, at least as well as someone could be given the circumstances, and merely needed some time alone to sort things out after receiving a shock of this nature.

With that said, it was still only so long that Logan's somewhat overprotective nature could be held in check. Particularly once his enhanced senses picked up the sound of a motorcycle approaching the Institute at a very high rate of speed, and whose engine was suddenly cut right as it reached the estate's perimeter. All, so that the rider could use her phasing ability to pass with the bike right through the security gate, and use it's sustained momentum to silently coast the rest of the way in.

"She's back."

Standing up for the first time in at least a couple of hours, Logan was all set to head out to the garage to see how his Half-Pint was holding up, when he received a notice to the contrary.

"Uh-Uh. Have a seat, Bubba." Rogue now said as she too stood up, while reaching out to grab a hold of Logan by the arm.

"'xcuse me?" Logan curiously snarled, turning around to first take a look back at Rogue, and then down at this lone bare-hand that she had wrapped around his wrist.

For most, just the idea of attempting to physically restrain this man capable of inflicting such incredible violence would be an unthinkable prospect. So too would it have seemed just as implausible to see Rogue touching Logan, or anyone for that matter, without a pair of her customary protective gloves.

Just as unlikely as it also would've been to have seen her at this time last year dressed as she was now, with the upper-half of her attire consisting of just a basic black tank-top. Wearing this sleeveless article of clothing in such a closed-in vicinity to others, Rogue didn't even seem to be concerned in the slightest with the prospect of her bare arms casually brushing up against anyone else in the room and causing her mutant absorption powers to accidentally trigger.

And for good reason.

It was a worry that had been all but fully negated thanks to the small device that Rogue had unexpectedly been given a few months prior, which was currently strapped around her own wrist. Making it perhaps the greatest Christmas gift that a certain young lady could have ever hoped to receive.

A miracle beyond even her wildest dreams and wishes.

"I believe that Rogue may have a point." Ororo now said from her adjacent seat, her statement meant as a reference of support for Rogue's attempt to impede Logan, "The last thing that Kitty needs is for us, all of us, to rush out there and overwhelm her at once with our concern for her. Now that we know that she has returned home safely, I'm certain that when given a proper night's rest she will be better prepared to speak with us about what has happened."

Ororo then stood up from her seat as well, retightening the sash to her African-print robe around her waist, before turning her attention to the young lady whose actions just a few moments ago she had given something of a vote of confidence to.

"Rogue, will you check on Kitty a little later once she has had a chance to settle in, to see if there is anything that she may need?"

And with the subject now apparently closed, this seemingly aloof weather-goddess then prepared to take her leave and head upstairs to turn in for the night. But, Ororo's words and her actions had been enough to convince everyone else in this room to more-or-less do the same, even someone as habitually headstrong as Logan. While Kurt quickly disappeared in a plume of smoke with Wanda so that he could teleport her home, Logan also went to go...do whatever it was that he usually did at night when he couldn't sleep. Which for him was a frequent reoccurrence.

In the meantime, with all of these various departures Rogue had been left behind as the lone remaining occupant in the living room. And, so too had the task fallen to Rogue to act on the hidden purpose that had been secretly set into motion for her. That, while she had meant what she had said regarding everyone not crowding Kitty right now, Ororo knew all too well from her own personal experience just how much someone trying cope with the unexpected loss of her first love would need her best friend's shoulder to cry on right about now.

Ororo also knew that the last thing that Kitty needed right now was to have a father figure-type, who while genuinely well-meaning in his desire to help, could be a bit overbearing in his intention. And, who would more than likely continue with his profanity-tinged ranting that had been repeated ad nauseum over the last several hours about Mr. Lance Alvers, about how he always knew that kid was no good, and about how he oughta still go over there and give him a piece of his mind, etc. Which, given all that she had been through over the last few hours was the last thing that Kitty would want to hear, and was why Ororo had gone to such great lengths to manipulatively point Logan in another direction until he could truly cool off himself.

Even, if it meant forsaking her own desire to go in there and try to comfort her 'Kitten' in the process.

**xxx**

After having waited the approximate amount of time that she estimated it would take for Kitty to phase her way from out of the garage back upstairs, and then having also thrown in a few additional minutes for good marginal measure, Rogue finally made her up to their shared bedroom to check on how her friend and roommate was doing. Opening the barely cracked door, Rogue peered into what was an almost completely darkened room, but was unable to determine visually one way or the other if anyone was even in there? So, she decided to employ another tried and true method to find out whether Kitty had made it back up here yet.

"Kitty? Kit? You in here?"

Pausing for a moment, Rogue waited both for a response to her query and simultaneously scanned the near pitch-black room once again as best she could from the better illuminated hallway for any sign of movement. When she was unable to confirm a presence in here through either of these means, Rogue had begun preparing to head out to the garage herself, thinking that perhaps Kitty was still out there or off on another part of the Institute's grounds? But, just as she was about to close the bedroom door and begin her trek outside, a voice spoke out to her from the shadows within to persuade Rogue otherwise.

_"I'm in here."_

Rogue instantly recognized that it was Kitty who was now talking to her, but at the same time could tell that there was something different, something wrong in her voice. Taking a couple of steps over to turn on a small C-3PO desk-lamp, a rare vintage piece of Star Wars memorabilia from Kitty's childhood that she had brought back with her from one of her more recent visits home to Illinois (for some ungodly reason, Rogue thought to herself every time she looked at it), she hoped to soon be able to visually confirm what her ears were already telling her.

Upon bringing a modicum of light back to their shared sleeping quarters, Rogue saw that Kitty had been in here this entire time laying on her bed with her back to the door, her face buried almost completely in her pillow. But even up here Kitty's thoughts continued to be dominated by the memory of what had happened today, as it had been ever since she had sped off from the Brotherhood House earlier in a metaphorical attempt to outrun them.

Having eventually gone to take refuge in a secluded spot not too far from the Institute that overlooked Central Bay, Kitty had hoped to clear her thoughts of everything that had gone on. But, all she wound up managing to accomplish was to spend the rest of the evening crying her eyes out until it was well after dark. That, and trying to ponder a few broader questions about herself, about her relationship with Lance, and drawing a few conclusions about them both that she'd subconsciously been reluctant to come to grips with. That while it would seem that their relationship had fallen apart because of their fight at prom, in truth the problems between her and Lance had been building for quite some time and went far beyond the subject of going up to a hotel-room.

There had always been an obvious and undeniable spark of attraction between Kitty and Lance that could be traced back to their very first meeting. So much so, that Kitty had somewhere in the time since prepared herself for the day or night when she and Lance would finally become sexually intimate, learning as much as she could about birth-control and protected sex to fill in whatever knowledge gaps remained for her after having endured both Bayville High's and the Xavier Institute's combined curriculum on this particular subject. Once that had been covered and she had obtained the necessary contraceptives to try to ensure a night of passion that would be as safe as possible, all Kitty had to do was wait for the right moment.

Which, is where their problems apparently seemed to spring up.

Kitty had always assumed that the right time would be when she and Lance were at that point in their relationship where they felt secure enough to handle such a major step-up in emotional intimacy. But during her secluded introspection this evening, Kitty realized that Lance hadn't ever really shown any interest in trying to relate to her on a higher emotional level. That, while she loved him and he had at least acted like he cared about her, she could easily count on one hand the number of times that he had ever really opened up to her regarding anything even remotely to do with his true feelings. Or, had ever gone out of his way to be emotionally supportive or consolatory for her when she'd needed it. And that wrapped up in a nutshell what she felt had been wrong in their relationship, and had been manifesting itself through their constant bickering, fighting, and repeated breakups.

That, perhaps she and Lance were ultimately just two people who were simply looking for different things in a relationship at this stage in their lives?

But, while such a clinical analysis of her current predicament was one that Kitty was able to easily accept in a logical sense, when it came to matters of the heart, especially a broken one, it was rare that things were ever resolved so painlessly. Which is why another part of her continued to persist in wondering whether she could've done anything differently? If maybe she wanted too much out of their relationship? If maybe her reluctance to give in really had driven Lance into the arms of another woman? If maybe he just wanted to be with someone bustier and better looking, like this…Jennifer? If maybe he really did want to be in a serious relationship all along, just not with her? If maybe she just wasn't meant to be with anyone? If...

It was a list of 'ifs' that could've gone on and on, and had been growing in Kitty's mind non-stop over the last several hours. To the point that it was driving her crazy and all she wanted now was for these questions, for these self-doubts that this little voice inside of her had her obsessing over, to just go away.

But, most of all what Kitty wanted was this pain, this longing ache buried deep within her to fade away and disappear, just like she had become so well-known for doing.

"Ah just came in to check on you, to see if you needed me to get you anything?" Rogue continued, having already turned on a light and proceeded further into their room, now leaning up slightly against the solid-wood desk that sat over in one corner.

"I'm fine." Kitty turned her face up just long enough to whimper out, her entire body still turned facing away from Rogue and towards the window that lay on the opposite side of this room.

In Kitty's voice, Rogue heard someone who sounded hoarse from the result of extensive yelling or crying, or a more likely a combination of both. And, someone who sounded as though she was on the verge of breaking into another lengthy crying spell at any second, but who was desperately struggling to hold back any such emotional tidal wave.

"Ah don't think lyin' on your bed in the dark with a face full of pillow really falls under the 'I'm fine' category." Rogue now remarked, having by now gone over to sit down on Kitty's bed right beside her and started supportively rubbing her back, which had been turned towards her for this entire conversation thus far.

But, Rogue didn't get much of a response from her mildly sarcastic attempt to get Kitty to at last look up at her, save for an incomprehensible mumble that Kitty made face-down into her pillow and that Rogue thought could've been translated to mean any number of things. Then a moment of silent interlude crept into the room, with Rogue continuing to gently stroke her hand up and down across one of Kitty's shoulder-blades, and with Kitty simply laying their almost motionless.

"That jackass really hurt you good this time, didn't he?" Rogue soothingly said after a few muted minutes had passed, "Ah won't sit here and pretend to know what you're goin' through right now, but--"

Rogue was in the middle of talking to her friend when she was unexpectedly interrupted, having at last elicited a response from Kitty just as she had been trying to get from her since coming in here.

Although, not quite in the way that she had pictured.

"**Then don't, okay!**" Kitty now shot up and sat up on top of her bed, screaming at Rogue at the top of her lungs. But as surprising as Kitty's sudden verbal snap at her should've been, Rogue didn't display any immediate reaction at all to it.

Rogue knew that she wasn't the one whom Kitty was mad at, and took no offense to her vocal lashing out. In fact, Rogue could clearly see that instant self-realization in the puffy, red eyes that were now staring back into hers.

"Rogue, I'm...I'm so sorry, I…I didn't mean to..." Was about all of her apology that Kitty was able to get out, before she totally lost it and burst into tears again.

"Shhh...Ah know, It's alright." Rogue said as she put her arms reassuringly around Kitty, who by now was crying hysterically, and lent her a shoulder that best friends were notorious for being there to offer when needed.

While Kitty slowly rocked back and forth in Rogue's calming embrace, her torrent of tears would steadily decrease until they were down to a soft-stream. Rogue had been through enough of Kitty and Lance's almost cyclical breakup/makeup patterns to know what to expect by now, and to know that just from her deep anguish currently on display that this situation would be nothing like those previous periods of separation.

Rogue's worry was that this was something else entirely, both in terms of magnitude and in its finality, that it was one of those experiences that fundamentally changes who a person is. That sure, this girl who sometimes wore her heart a little too openly on her sleeve, and who at the moment was bawling her eyes out, would always be the person they all knew as Kitty. But, that Kitty might not end up being that same person that she was before all of this…


End file.
